They Didn’t Just Want to Build a Housing Shelter. They Wanted to Shift Public Perception
From the exterior, the new PorchLight Eastgate facility in Washington isn’t immediately recognizable as a 100-bed shelter for unhoused men. For Block Architects, that was intentional.
Alex "Fitz" Fitzgerald volunteers in the kitchen of the PorchLight Eastgate shelter in Bellevue, Washington. One day last summer when he was cooking, shortly after the facility opened, a deer wandered up to the back patio, where everyone could see it through the cafeteria’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows. "It lifted everybody up," says Fitz, who was formerly unhoused. "People started breaking out their cell phones, taking live feeds, ya know? Being close to nature has a psychological effect. It makes them think about their wellness."
Published
Last Updated